The Wife of Bath's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer (Book Analysis)

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Wife of Bath’s Tale with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Wife of Bath’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the most popular and enduring of the Canterbury Tales. It is narrated by the eponymous Wife of Bath, a serial widow who frankly discusses her enjoyment of sex and the control she exerted over her husbands, which would have been seen as scandalous at the time. In the story she tells, a knight who has raped a young maiden is sentenced to death, but granted a last-minute reprieve: if he is able to discover what women want most within a year, his life will be spared. In the end, the knight does indeed find the answer: women most desire to be in control of their relationship with their husband or lover. Geoffrey Chaucer was the author of The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories which is one of the earliest known examples of English-language literature and has been a key influence on subsequent generations of writers.

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This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:

• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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